Floating bearing.



G. M. BICKNELL 81 HJH. C. WEED.

FLOATING BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I5. 1918.

1,300,556. Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

War/26y.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEIoE.

GEORGE E. BIQKNELL, 0 DETBQIT, I HI AN, 5ND

ISS ASSL BBS O TH ARTE QW QR 'RER MP N O L MISSOURI, A conrpn non or mssoum.

{FLOATING BEAnING.

Speciflcation. of Letters latent. Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Amflication flied July 15, 1918. Serial No. 245,005.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that e, M. Branno and Hum: H. 0. Wuvv, citizens o t United States, and residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, Mich gan, and at Louis, in the county of Lou-1s, Missouri, respectively, have invented certa n new and useful Improvements in Floating Beermgs, of which the following is a epwrfil tlon.

This invention r lates tootta hments for bearings adopted for application to rotating shafts, and more particularly to which are subjected to high rotat on. The primary object of nvention s the prevention of the whipp ng oi shaits.

The eneral y acc p ed idea o he so called whipping the tendency of high speed shafting to travel, n response toner trifugal force, in a circle danger than the diamete'r of the she-fit. This circular travel is in additi n to the rotationof the under pp d newer The s rts are r m m y held in fixed bearings, generallyat least [two in number, and the portions of the shaft which are subjected to the whipping action are located fbg 'wge n the ,fi-zged bearings. The circle of travel of the whipping portions would manifestly he around a center which is the center .oftheshaft when it is at rest. It will be very readily understood that the whipping action is exceed" ly destructive to the fixed bearings and tc ifizl e Shaft itself,

As before stated, a whippingshafttravels in a Girdle larger than its own diameter. Our conception is that any discouragement of the tendency of theahofit to travel 111. Ta true circle, .by destroy ng -or retardmg ts c n inuity of movement, o i puls to .a fix d c rcula ire tion, will tend t cause the shfi ftso more nearly assume its normal straig t; in ment.

Th in ention i espe a ly adop fo automobile shutting but it is to the vclearly understood i may b advan ag ous y s on ny h h ens d-shel fi n automobile drive she tea nery large percentage of th d str q iac vee on cameras-1. Joi 1% oc asioned by .sheft .vghlpnm .i lhis wear ha caused th flflei t on of no drive shaf s, of abnormal idlemetsr, Win h oami at y do inetyyhu to s g eat &I & t1lt,:he+ cause reel-heat, ihuthas c fielehe ga z erar m zfil'lit E IW 'QM PJM t. .1

esc heavier shafts are also objectionab e in that they add to the burden of the universal joint. With the use of our invention, a long drive shaft of normal diameter will show a smaller degree of whipping tendency, and consequently cause less Wear upon the hearings, than will a shaft of the same length and of abnormally large diameter.

We have observed that the whipping action is better retarded by opposing unequal resistance to the tendency of the shaft to swing in a circle. A fixed resistance of the tendency to travel to the left, for instance, should be met by either a greater or less resistance to travel to the right. Moreover, it is obvious that, in order for the shaft to travel in a circular path, the whipping portion must move upwardly and downwardly, at some point in the circle. This resistance may be applied as desired, but it is to be noted that, if equal resistance is moderately applied to movement in all directions, the whipping action will not be entirely eliminated.

Our invention therefore, by providing unequal resistance to shaft movement in dif- *ferent directions, renders a true circular or whipping movement impossible, ordering at the same time no resistance to the rotative movement within the bearings.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of t is specification, we have illustrated a preferrodembodiment of our invention, and have chosen to illustrate the in+ vention applied to the drive shaft of an automobile.

In the drawings F' re 1 is a plan viewof the device applied go the ,drive shaft, which is shown 1n s ctio 'Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the conmotion between the shajit bearing and the resistance device F 3 is a side elevationof Fig. 1; and

ii is a sectional detail on the line 4+4; of 1g. 1.

Theinvention comprises preferably a. split hearin 1 adapted ,to surround the shaft 2. Abraiet? is fixed to any convenient art of th automobile, such as a cross-mem er, and adapt d t p a epe din bar & in 4 P siti n tim iateIyadJaCent the bear? mg l. The band is formed of a s ngleplece ofme al harin ,an inhercnt e l lc yra,

Em racing t e bar 4 are two metallic noon 1:. c, WE on ST. Louis,

plates 5 and 6, suitably recessed or grooved to fit said bar. Bolts 7 and 8 extend through both plates, the ends thereof projected from the plate 5, being surroun ed by coiled springs 9 and 10 which constantly exert a pressure tending to clamp the plates upon the bar 4, as will be readily understood from inspection of Fi 2. Adjusting nuts 7' and 8 are fitted to t e outer ends of the bolts 7 and 8, respectively, whereby the clamping action may be regulated, as will be readily understood.

The bearing 1 is, preferably integrally, provided with a shank 11, having a reduced portion 12 extending through an aperture in the plate 6. The inner end of the portion 12 is screw-threaded and carries a nut 13. It will therefore be noted that the plates 5 and 6 form a collar which is connected to the bearing 1.

The bracket 3 is preferably formed of angle iron having flanges 14 and 15 which forms a pocket within which extends the end of the bar 4. It is to be noted that, since the collar is connected to the bearing 1, any bodily movement of the latter to the right or left will flex the bar 4. In order to provide an unequal resistance to lateral flexure of the bar 4, and to also prevent any shearing thereof by its contact with the lower edges of the flanges 14 and 15, we mount two leaf springs 16 and 17 between the flanges 14 and 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. It will be noted that the bar 4 is received between the springs, and that a bolt 18 passes through the springs and bar. The springs 16 and 17 are of unequal tensile strength, and extend downwardly beyond the flanges 1a and 15, along the bar 4. They may be of the same tensile strength and one extend downwardly farther than the other. It is important that they do not impart the same amount of resistance to fiexure of the bar.

From the foregoing it is clear that resistance is always a plied to any Whippin tendency of the s aft. Any movement 0 the shaft to either side is resisted by the resiliency of the bar 4 but, in the absence of other instrumentahties, this resistance would be the same in both directions. The 5 rings 16 and 17 however, since they are of different strength, are utilized to impart the unequal resistance, and also to prevent the shearing of the bar 4, as hereinbefore referred to. i

It is clear that vertical movement of the shaft cannot take place except the collar, formed by the plates 5 and 6, slide along the bar 4. Since the springs 9 and 10 are always forcing the plates 5 and 6 into clamping engagement with bar 4, this vertical movement of the shaft is frictionally resisted.

From the foregoing, it will be clear that We have devised a novel means adapted to effectually prevent the central line of the shaft assuming a circular path of travel, thereby causing said shaft to maintain its substantial alinement.

It is obvious that in actual practice of the invention, lubricating devices, such as 011 cups, should be applied to all points where there is frictional contact. Since these devices form no part of our invention, they are not shown in all instances where they would be necessary.

Various modifications of the invention may be suggested to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, but we desire to secure by Letters Patent all such embodiments thereof as fall fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

It is to be understood that, while we have shown a member mounted to assume a vertical .osition adjacent the shaft, the member n'ng it just as well be mounted to extend laterally above or below the shaft. In this event, the lateral movement of the member, the hearing, or the shaft, as herein described, both in the specification and claims, might properly be termed a, vertical movement, and vice-versa. The appended claims cover this mechanical equivalent.

What we claim is 1. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a fioatable bearing engaging said shaft, a resilient element fixed to assume a position with its free portion adjacent the bearing. and means for connecting said element to said bearing, substantially as described.

2. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearin engaging said shaft, a resilient element fixed to assume a position with its free portion adjacent the bearing, means for presenting resistance to flexure of said element, and means for connecting said element to said bearing, substantially as described.

3. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearing engaging the shaft, a resilient element fixed in position adjacent said bearing, means for connecting the element to said bearing, and means for presenting resistance to flexure of said element in opposite directions, said means also operating to prevent shearing of the element, su stantially as described.

4. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearin engaging the shaft, a resilient element fixed in position adjacent said bearin means for connecting the. element to said hearing, and means for presenting unequal resistance to flexure of said element in opposite directions, said means also operating to prevent shearing of the element, substantially as described.

5. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearing engaging the shaft, a resilient element fixed in position adjacent said bearing, means for connecting said element to said bearing, and a leaf spring clamped to and engaging each side 10 In testimony whereof We aflix our signa- 15 tures.

GEORGE M. BIGKNELL. HUGH H. C. WEED.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

